Page:Shakespeare of Stratford (1926) Yale.djvu/150

Shakespeare of Stratford

1594, a combination of the Admiral’s and Chamberlain’s companies, in which Shakespeare was presumably included, performed there. Among the plays then acted were Andronicus, The Taming of a Shrew, and Hamlet.

(ii) The ‘Rose.’ On the Bankside near the southern shore of the Thames, opposite London. Built by Philip Henslowe in 1587. The ‘Rose’ was circular in shape and more elegant, as well as much more accessible than the ‘Theatre.’ In 1592 it was used by Lord Strange’s company (with which Shakespeare may have been associated), but later was ordinarily tenanted by Shakespeare’s chief rivals, the Admiral’s men, till 1600, when the latter opened a new theatre, the ‘Fortune,’ north of London Wall on the opposite side of Finsbury Fields from the ‘Theatre’ and ‘Curtain.’ This last theatre, being permanently in the possession of his competitors, was probably never used for Shakespeare’s plays.

(iii) The ‘Globe,’ constructed in 1599, partly of timber taken from the dismantled ‘Theatre,’ stood near the ‘Rose,’ which it far surpassed in size and magnificence. It was the usual place for the performance of Shakespeare’s plays from the middle of 1599 till it was burned in 1618 in the course of the presentation of Henry VIII. A large part of the poet’s wealth came from his interest in the ‘Globe.’

[Two other playhouses on the Bankside—the